Picturing the Past: The Role of Photo Cue Visual Perspective on Positive Autobiographical Memory Recall in Dysphoria

Positive autobiographical memory plays a key role in emotional well-being and is distorted by cognitive processing biases in dysphoria. This experimental study investigated how personal photographs’ visual perspective (first-person vs. third-person) influences recall of positive memories depending on dysphoria. Eighty-five participants (42 low dysphoria, 43 high dysphoria) submitted photos of positive events from both perspectives. Later, participants recalled these events while viewing either a first- or third-person photo and rated and described their memory. While first-person photos promoted more field-perspective recall regardless of dysphoria level, dysphoria was still associated with greater observer recall, reduced mental imagery, and lower internal episodic detail. Additionally, dysphoria predicted less focus on the meaning of pictured events in general, and lower positive and higher negative emotional impact of recalling the events in the presence of first-person photo cues. Thus, while photo cues can shift memory vantage point, but emotional engagement remains constrained by mood-related biases.